Voldemorts Sphere of Influence/WWII parallels

[pbnesbit at msn.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 11552

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Emily Owens" <bradamant at h...> wrote:
> Ebony:
> Many have noted parallels between Voldemort and Hitler [snip]
> 
> I just looked back in the archive and was surprised to note that 
either I 
> can't find it, or there's been no mention yet of the possibility 
(or IMO, 
> likelihood) that Voldemort's use of the Imperius Curse is a 
reference to one 
> of the main attempts to explain the Holocaust.
> 
> I assume most of you know about this so I'll keep the summary 
short. There 
> are two major schools of thought attempting to explain how the 
circumstances 
> leading to the Holocaust or Shoah came about.
> 
> One started with Hannah Arendt and concerns "the banality of evil." 
> According to this view, those who committed the crimes were cogs in 
a 
> bureaucracy, and were too brainwashed or too dedicated to their 
jobs and 
> country fully to realize how evil the bureaucracy's ends were.
> 
> The other gained great prominence with the fairly recent 
publication of of 
> Daniel Jonah Goldhagen's book "Hitler's Willing Executioners," 
which argued 
> that those who committed the crimes acted independently, based on 
racist 
> views they learned from their overwhelmingly anti-Semitic 
surroundings.
> 
> Aside from the Nuremberg-esque tone of the Death Eaters' trials, I 
think the 
> discussions about the Imperius Curse are a reference to one of 
these two 
> views. I.e. people who claimed that they were under the Imperius 
Curse tried 
> to dodge responsibility for their actions by claiming that 
Voldemort *made* 
> them do it, and were essentially trying to use the "organization of 
evil" 
> argument. Given the level of skepticism with which many of the 
characters 
> regard these claims, it seems that JKR is throwing her lot in with 
the 
> Goldhagen/individual-responsibility view.
> 
> Does anyone else see this in the books? I studied the period, so 
perhaps I 
> am over-inclined to see reflections of it everywhere. OTOH, I feel 
that the 
> books are capable of this level of seriousness.
> 
> Emily

Emily--

I noticed it right off.  I also noticed something else in my 20th re-
reading of GoF.  Crouch, sr. is described as having a toothbrush 
mustache and severe parting in his hair.  Now, I may be crazy, but 
the image that jumped into my brain when I read that, was of a Hitler 
with white hair.  It made my blood run cold.  

I also think the books are capable of this level of seriousness.  
I've noticed several places where JKR seems to be commenting on 
modern-day society.

Peace and Plenty,

Parker
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